Thursday, November 12, 2009

Naming

• Poetry is a way to name emotions, events, experiences...  I've been turning to this art form...this way of expressing...these communications to one and all.  Poetry is not easy for me.  When I was little I appreciated the simple forms of haiku and limericks.

Poetry has been on my periphery though.  My partner writes poetry.  I have close friends who are poets.  I have an ex who wrote poetry (a poem he wrote for me remains to this day one of the greatest gifts I have received.)  My favorite author writes poetry.  My favorite songwriter has introduced me to poetry.  (Songs are a hybrid of prose and poetry, no?  Well, with an aural component all its own, too...)

I am circling poetry anew lately.  I wrote a poem.  And I kind of want to write more.  So I thought I should read some poetry.  Educate myself.  Step in and get a lay of the land.

I requested two volumes from the library: E.E. Cummings and Hafiz (avoiding Daniel Ladinsky for now).

I've started with E.E.  I'm reading Collected Poems, which was published in 1963.  The poems aren't doing much for me, though I am learning something about flow and energy...there's something there.  However, his words in the introduction touched me...blew me away.

"...If mostpeople were to be born twice they'd improbably call it dying---
       you and I are not snobs.  We can never be born enough.  We are human beings;for whom birth is a supremely welcome mystery,the mystery of growing: the mystery which happens only and whenever we are faithful to ourselves.  You and I wear the dangerous looseness of doom and find it becoming.  Life, for eternal us, is now; and now is much too busy being a little more than everything to seem anything,catastrophic included..."

• I am in the process of discovering what it is I will name my photographic self.  I am not thinking of going into business, but it has been brought to my attention that my photography may have a place in commerce.  I have started making cards (for non-commercial reasons) using my pics and I thought it would be fitting to have a name to place on the back of the cards.  Something creative and catchy :-)

The top contenders at the moment are: Glimtphotography and Lumisensephoto and See or Be Seen.

If you have a suggestion or two or three I would love to hear them.

• Cap brought me home some tulips yesterday.  Move over Iris, there's a new flower in town.  These tulips had my name all over them.


3 comments:

Jamie said...

I'm looking forward to reading more of your poetry. My gift was beautiful!

I don't know if you were still thinking of having the name for your photography connect to your "musings of a manatee" but "visions of a manatee" came to mind.

shirley said...

I *love* that. Thank you! Adding it to the sack o'ideas :-)

shirley said...

...and thank you. I am glad you liked the poem :-)